Rachels Chiari Journey so far: Returning to work

Hi

Hi and welcome to my blog! I am 29 yrs old and have been through a rough few years. I got married in Aug 09 and by Sept 09 I was very ill. I was diagnosed with Chiari Malformation I, Syringomyelia and Hydrocephalus. I had surgery in Sept 09 to relieve the pressure on my brain and to stabilse it, this was called Endoscopic Third Ventriculostomy (ETV). In Feb 2010 I had foramen magnum decompression surgery to remove a section of bone from my skull (craniotomy) and the back part of my c1 vertebrae (laminectomy) to create more space for my cerebrospinal fluid (csf) to flow. Unfortunately for me 4 weeks later I was back in hospital with meningits....I had to have more surgery.....another ETV (which failed straight away) and a ventriculo-peritoneal (VP) shunt inserted. After that I was well and discharged from hospital...but my walking was worsening so I called the specialist nurse who arranged an MRI for me....which showed a massive syrinx (collection of fluid) in my spine....more surgery yet again....so in Aug 10 I had a syringo-subarachnoid shunt inserted into my spine. I spent 9 weeks in hospital (6 1/2 of them in rehab) and have been in a wheelchair learning to walk since then. I hope I don't bore you too often!!

Friday, 6 January 2012

Returning to work

So, it has been almost 2 years since I last worked.....23rd of Feb 2010 to be exact.....yesterday I went to see the Dr to get my latest "fit for work" note......my Dr agreed with me that another 3 months (April) and I might be ready for work!! I will be so happy when I am ready to return to work! It has been one hell of a 2 years!! But there finally seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel!!